Leptospermum scopariumForst. has an ideal form for a cut flower, but its use is limited by a short vase life. Flowers on cut stems typically wilt within 4–6 days of harvest. A breeding programme was initiated to develop cultivars with improved characteristics for commercial cut flower production, focusing on increasing postharvest life. A survey was conducted of 38 cultivars ofL. scopariumas well as 16 other speciesof Leptospermum,3 of the closely related genusKunzea,and 1 intergeneric hybrid betweenL. scopariumandK. sinclairii.The vase lives of theL. scopariumcultivars studied varied from 1 to 6 days, with a modal value of 4 days.L. scoparium’Crimson Glory’ has been successfully hybridised toL. rotundifolium’Jervis Bay’. The Fl progeny of this cross lasted from 4 to 9 days in a vase with a modal value of 6.5 days. Other heritable characters included differences in leaf and flower dimensions and the accumulation of the blue anthocyanidin moiety delphinidin in the petals.